Friday, January 17, 2025
DE PERE – West De Pere senior Kate Schmoll is on her way to making a decision about where to continue her academic and athletic career after a successful high school stint competing in three sports — two of which overlapped.
Schmoll has not only competed in cross country and swim, both as fall sports, but also runs track in the spring — and is on track to qualify for the State Tournament in each sport all four years.
“I started swimming competitively when I was seven and I started at Ashwaubenon swim club,” said Schmoll.
“I swam in high school for the De Pere-West De Pere co-op team. Then, for cross country I started running in second grade for the JDRF walk because my sister has Type 1 Diabetes. The following years into third, fourth and fifth grade, I ran the Bellin Run and then started formally running cross country in sixth grade. I also run track which I started in middle school around sixth grade.”
Schmoll said she has been the first person in her family to be a runner, though she followed in her mom’s footsteps in swimming.
“I’m the middle child. I have an older brother and a younger sister. My mom did swim in high school, so that’s probably why I got put into club swimming. My parents just saw me really enjoying running when I was younger, so they just had me do the run club,” said Schmoll.
Schmoll said that regardless of her workload, she has an equal passion for swimming and running and finds joy in each of them, making it difficult to prioritize one over the other.
“That’s always really hard for me. Out of the three, my top two are swimming and cross country. I could never choose between the two because I love them both so much. I still don’t know if I have an answer, because I love them pretty equally,” said Schmoll.
Because her passion for running and swimming runs so deep, Schmoll said she is interested in pursuing a collegiate career for both sports.
“Right now I am talking to some coaches. I have three schools that I am looking at. Two of the schools I am talking to for swimming and running. One school is just for running. I am hoping to have an answer on college stuff soon, but right now I kind of just have three choices. I know I’m going to continue running or swimming wherever I go,” said Schmoll.
Like many high schoolers, Schmoll said that the recruiting process has been a really exciting experience for her.
“I started the recruiting process as soon as I could, which was around November of my junior year. It was really cool because I had some coaches reach out to me through Instagram and some through letters that they would send to the school, so I was able to tour five schools over time. It was a little stressful just trying to talk about money, but it was also really cool because I got to see a lot of big schools and little schools. Being a recruit, you get a lot more in depth views of the school than on a normal tour,” said Schmoll.
Keeping her priorities in mind when choosing a school has been a major aspect of what Schmoll said she takes into consideration when selecting a university.
“All three schools are in the state. Two are definitely smaller and one is pretty big. That’s still a deciding factor for me. I think there are a lot of perks to both the big schools and the small schools, but a priority for where I go is definitely an education-first school. I want somewhere that the coaches and professors still put academics first over athletics but also care about their athletes and want them to succeed. I need them to understand that at the end of the four years, I am going to be focusing on my academics more than my athletics,” said Schmoll.
“I’ve qualified for State all four years in swim and cross country, and those are both fall sports. Out of the three years for track that I have competed, I have qualified for State and will hopefully for a fourth year this season,” said Schmoll.
Not only did Schmoll qualify to compete in the WIAA State Tournament each year for her sports, she performed exceptionally well.
“For cross country, freshman year I got seventh for the State meet at Division 1. Sophomore year, I got third. For swimming I took around 11th in my individual event which is the 100-Fly. For track, freshman year I took fourth in the mile and fourth in the two-mile,” said Schmoll.
According to Schmoll a significant part of her motivation was proving those who doubted her ability and dedication wrong.
“I think a big thing for me was just that I wanted to show everyone that I could do it. I’ve been running and swimming for years,” said Schmoll.
Even though she found her way to success in athletics with two fall sports and one in the spring, Schmoll said seeing a dip in her grades was never an option for her.
“A big thing was just that I never wanted to sacrifice my academics for my athletics. I took a few college credit classes and APs. I just make sure I have study halls when I need them. In the fall I go to cross country practice right after school from 3-5 p.m. I would have dinner with my family and if I needed to get homework done I would take care of it before swim practice at night around 7-9 p.m. I just made sure if I had any more homework I would get it done after that,” said Schmoll.
“It’s just a lot of trying to work efficiently so that I can do everything at a good level. I have a 4.38 cumulative GPA. Making sure I keep up my grades is a priority, but just making sure I appreciate it all has been a really big thing for me.”
However, one of the most important lessons Schmoll said she has learned in high school was not in athletics or academics, but something she can apply to her everyday life.
“I think a big thing for me is that I’ve learned to appreciate it all a lot more. Especially with it being senior year and it being the last time for everything, I think I have grown a lot as a teammate. This year as a captain for cross country and swimming, I think I have grown as a teammate and seen other people improve, not just myself. Academically, I have more of a balance of study habits, making sure how and when to get everything done,” said Schmoll.
Schmoll said that much of her success would have never been possible without having everyone in her corner to support her.
“A lot of it is my family. I would never be able to do anything without my parents. They run me from one practice to the next. I’m very honored to say that I’ve had one or both parents at every single one of my meets, which is just really awesome,” said Schmoll.
“A lot of my friends are also my teammates, so it’s really cool to be able to run with them and swim with them. This year I got to swim with my sister who is now a freshman. That was a really cool experience. Getting to swim my last meet at State with her was really special. A lot of good people in my life.”
Schmoll gave much of the credit for her success to her older brother Matthew, younger sister Kara, and her parents.
However, Schmoll said that her journey has been full of challenges, and in her experience having a good coach can make or break your experience in a sport.
“I probably have good examples of good and bad,” said Schmoll.
“Mr. Lakken was my middle school coach. He really helped me find a love and a joy for cross country. He could see the best in every runner, no matter their time. That’s what made him so special — he never treated me or anyone else different for being fast. He just wanted everyone to care and enjoy the sport and do their personal best. That really helped me focus on my time vs. my place.”
“Mr. Johnson I had for freshman year in high school. He was really amazing because I could tell he just believed in me. I had a negative experience where a coach kind of didn’t really believe in me and thought I shouldn’t be allowed to do this because I wouldn’t keep up my academics with it. Mr. Johnson was always the one who said he knew I could and would always check on me versus just assuming things about me,” said Schmoll.
“I’ve been blessed with a lot of good coaches. My current coach, Ms. Bloomer, has shown me how amazing she can be when people doubt her, too. They weren’t really sure she could transform the sport into what she did, and I think she did an amazing job by making cross country more respected by people who don’t run.”
“My swim coach, Ms. Wolf, has been amazing because she always believed in me as well. She makes individual workouts for different people every day and you can see the hard work that see puts in and that makes the team also want to work hard and she’s part of the reason I had the opportunity to go to State on a relay with my sister,” said Schmoll.
In her free time, Schmoll said she has some hobbies that transcend the sports world and bring her joy amid all the chaos of her ambitions.
“I love writing poems. I’ve really gotten into that recently. I love listening to music when I’m studying, running, swimming. I love going out to eat with my friends and catching up with them, especially now that a lot of them are away in college,” said Schmoll.
“I do a lot of volunteering. I like to volunteer at Christian Outreach — a thrift store here in De Pere. I also do a lot of timing for swim meets. A lot of my volunteer work is for the National Honor Society. I’m also in a SADD program for our school, which is Students Against Destructive Decisions. That was a decent part of my high school experience because of the 15 minutes simulation that we run to warn against drunk driving. It was just really powerful to be a part of.”
Schmoll said that she hopes to one day have a career in the finance field, whether that means personal finance or accounting.
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